The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I failed to say that it is a fine looking Gem. Does it have the banner decal or the Edison script? Jerry Blais

Jerry B. wrote:You learn something every day. I always thought the only difference between Columbia and Edison 10" cone horns was the length of the crimped small end. I didn't realize Columbia added the small end to the cone. Thanks for teaching an old dog something new. Jerry

Well, Columbia didn't add the small end, but Hawthorne & Sheble did! Based on observations of horns originally found with machines, I believe Columbia was using the 2-piece H&S cone horns, but Edison was using the 1-piece Tea Tray (and possibly Standard Metal Mfg.) horns. I'm always interested to see photos of period dealerships to check on those 10" cone horns, but there's usually not enough detail to tell.

George P.

I can second Steve's recommendation of the Meguiars Scratch X2. Below is a drip-pan Gem that used to be dull and splotchy. I cleaned it several times over the years with GoJo. I tried OZ. I tried waxing it. It still had a dull, splotchy look - almost as it something had once been applied to it. Nothing seemed to work until I tried the Scratch X2. Now, it wasn't magical - I had to carefully reapply 2 or 3 times, but finally it began to shine like new. I just took this photo as the Gem sits on our piano to show how it shines now - I really wish I had a "before" picture. I guess I didn't really want a picture of it before!

...And yes, this drip-pan has a later stamped Gem reproducer and carriage rather than the earlier built-in reproducer. This is the way I found it! I imagine the original owner wanted to improve the machine's marginal performance with the improved reproducer. Beats me...

One more thing about the Scratch X2: I bought mine at a local NAPA and paid something like $13. A week later I saw it at Wal-Mart for less than half that price...

George P.

I just wanted to mention to use extreme caution with the gold stripe on the horn.